Day: March 31, 2014

Hypnopotamus

Hypnopotamus BWMarketing products of any kind is challenging, and more so in a culture inured to the standard marketing techniques.

These days, you need to be able to reach your target audience quickly and effectively. You must tap into their subconscious desires to buy your product or service right now!

Genetic Research Associates, in conjunction with Nigerian Oil Minister Marketing International, is pleased to announce a breakthrough. By using the amazing mental powers of our genetically-modified hippopotamus to break through that wall of sales-resistance, the prospect becomes a customer in mere seconds.

But is it ethical? Of course it is! People can’t be convinced under hypnosis to do something they wouldn’t normally do. For instance, those people who cluck like a chicken when they’re put under – you know they must have wanted to do that, right? Who wouldn’t?

As an author, you know people want to buy your book, but some irrational process is interfering with acting on that wholesome impulse. Is that fair? Of course not. The hypnopotomus simply bypasses all that to get to YES!

$165,000 an hour might seem like a lot of money to invest in book promotion, but not if you care about your book. You do care about your book, right? Not convinced yet? Just look at that adorable hypnopotamus.

Look into his eyes.

Look deeply…

Is Google+ Where You Should Be?

Google+ for VisibilityIt’s been awhile since we’ve talked about Google+. As Facebook loses the interest of many users, Google+ appears to keep growing. For me, the visibility value of time spent on Google+ is far better than the same keystrokes or time on Facebook. From a pure business perspective, you might find that Google+ is the place to be. Continue reading “Is Google+ Where You Should Be?”

Featured Book: She Likes It Rough

She Likes it RoughShe Likes It Rough
by G.V.R. Corcillo
Book Genre: Romantic Comedy
Available from Amazon.

Scaredy-cat Lisa Flyte strikes a deal with adrenaline junkie Jack Hawkins: she’ll be the test dummy for his new line of gear if he helps her get a backbone. They survive (barely!) their bumbling adventures in the wild. But will they survive each other once they’re back on solid ground?

Excerpt:

“Oh, God!” I shriek. “We’re crashing!”

“We are NOT crashing.”

“We’re not?”

“Damn! I knew you were all wrong for this.”

“All wrong? No, I’m not!” I stiffen my spine, sitting up as tall as I can. “I can do this. I AM doing this!”

Jack looks away. “I better just take you home.”

“No!”

“Yes. You said this was what you wanted, but clearly you don’t want to be here.”

“Yes I do! I can do this and I will.”

“Okay.” In a flash, he rips off his headphones and mine, snaps open his seatbelt and mine, and pulls me against him as he stands.

“Hey!”

Jack turns me around and wraps his arms just under my ribcage. I figure out what he’s doing just as the helicopter banks sharply.

Out we go, tumbling backwards through space.

“AAAAAAAAHHHH!”

What reviewers are saying:

“From the first chapter, I laughed so hard I cried.” – Savannah Mae’s review for Rebecca’s Reads.

Book Festival Experts Offer Advice on Building Author Platform

virginia festival of the bookSo, once you’ve published a book, platform building and marketing strategies are the next things to tackle on the to-do list. At the Virginia Festival of the Book, this past March 23rd, several authors and experts discussed the best ways to build platform and market books.

First up, we’ll discuss platform building. Platform is more or less all the things that make up your author persona. It includes everything from social media to your work to your general reputation in the author world. Platform building is one of the strongest parts of your marketing strategy, but it’s also the most difficult, the experts said.

“Your platform is part of your job as a writer,” said Bethanne Patrick, author of An Uncommon History of Common Things who built a large following (186k) tweeting as @thebookmaven. “Many of us would rather be writing and researching. But it is not optional. It is something that has to be done.” Continue reading “Book Festival Experts Offer Advice on Building Author Platform”